Charging a smartphone can take a long time, depending on how depleted the battery is. USB-C has helped a little bit with this problem, but Qualcomm is not satisfied. The company has improved on its Quick Charge technology to make things much faster and more efficient.
Qualcomm is calling it Quick Charge 4, and the idea is to have a system where a smartphone can get five hours of battery life from just a mere five minutes of charge. This hasn't been proven yet in the real world, but if it works, Qualcomm would have achieved something incredible.
We understand the new update was unveiled on Thursday, and its official release is set for 2017 along side the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm's newest processor for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. It's very important as we live in a world where everyone wants everything to happen instantly.
"As mobile devices become more capable and feature rich, people tend to use them more. That's why consumer demand and awareness for fast-charging solutions is now at an all-time high," said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Quick Charge 4 addresses that need by providing up to 50 percent battery charge in roughly 15 minutes or less, so you don't have to spend all day chained to your charging cable."
Now, here's the important thing one needs to know. You see, Quick Charge 4 is built directly into the Snapdragon 835 chipset, which means the only way consumers can take advantage of what it has to offer is to purchase a smartphone or tablet with the processor inside.
We expect the Samsung Galaxy S8 to be one of the first devices in 2017 to come with Snapdragon 835.
How Does Quick Charging Work
Qualcomm uses an algorithm known as Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV), to allow everything to fall into place. According to the company, the algorithm is capable of managing how much power the device can request through power cables.
We should note that Quick Charge 4 has a heat management feature, so smartphones shouldn't have to contend with any problems similar to what happened with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Furthermore, the upgraded tech delivers 30 percent of battery efficiency when compared to Quick Charge 3.
Qualcomm realizes that smartphones and tablets are not the only mobile devices out there, and as such, the company is aiming to get in on the virtual reality craze as well. Not only that, but drones are also in the pipeline, and rightfully so. If we look at the current state of drones, the battery is the main problem, so Qualcomm could change that, if even a little bit.
We hope to learn a lot more about Quick Charge 4 come 2017, and chances are, the Samsung event might dig deep into everything we need to know.
